June Bugs

June 2016

Pickaway to Garden

June Bugs

By Paul Hang

June Bug, is a term of endearment often used by grandfathers when addressing their granddaughters. Also, a beetle that bangs into window screens, porch lights and can accumulate on the steps near screen doors in June. June bugs on the other hand come in all sizes and stripes. (I am using the term bug in a generic sense not in its more exact entomological meaning.) To mention just a few, Cucumber beetles, White Cabbage Butterflies, aphids, scale, but also Honey bees, Mason bees, wasps, Fireflies (which are beetles) the 17 year Cicadas which are arriving here this year, and thousands more.

Most “bugs” are either not pests or they are beneficial. Estimates go as high as 97%. When you see a bug in your garden don’t immediately reach for a systemic bug spray. Try to identify them as beneficial or detrimental. If detrimental, are they causing so much harm that you can’t tolerate it? If so, try something less drastic than a chemical that will kill all “bugs.” Blast”em with the hose, pick or flick them into a bucket or cup of soapy water. If there are no pests in our gardens there won’t be any beneficial insects there to prey on them. Many bugs in the garden also pollinate our fruits and vegetables. Learn to tolerate some damage. Reconsider the term pest. Pests tend to occur in groups, beneficial predators tend to be alone.

Another of my gardening acquaintances, Lon Turfman, was telling me about the new John Deere commercial mantra, “It’s not how fast you mow well, It’s how well you mow fast.” A better aphorism for a healthy lawn would be, with apologies to George Carlin and Willie Nelson, “It’s not how often you mow high, it’s how high you mow often.” Translation, mowing 3-4 inches high and mowing often promotes healthy grass plants, shades out weeds, returns nitrogen to the soil saving fertilizer, conserves water by shading the ground and slowing its drying out. It doesn’t matter how fast you do this but it is mowing well.

June 15^th the OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, Pickaway County, will hold its fourth annual Founders Day Celebration. It’s free and the public is invited. The title is “In the Garden” with 610 WTVN Radio host Ron Wilson. Mr. Wilson hosts several TV and radio programs originating from Cincinnati. He is on 10am-12 Saturdays on WTVK Columbus, Ohio.  The program begins at 7pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, Noecker Hall on E. Mound St. Circleville.

Things to do in the garden:

The gardening season is well under way and we can be overwhelmed with all there is to do. Take the time to enjoy this leafy month. Gardening is a process to be enjoyed.

First, if you haven’t started a garden it is not too late. When choosing plants, choose strong vigorous green ones. Avoid the yellowish leggy specimens. Plants of tomato, peppers, eggplant are the best bet for early June planting.

Some plants that can be planted from seed in early June are: green beans (successive plantings to mid-June can extend the harvest), beets, carrots, Swiss chard, corn (depending on the variety), cucumber, lettuce, lima beans, musk melon, winter and summer squash.

To avoid the wilting of cucumber and melon vines cover the new plants with row cover material until the plants flower. Then remove the cover so that the pollinators can do their work. Mulch vegetables in mid-month after the soil has warmed up, at the same time you can fertilize all vegetables, corn two times, this month.

Weed and thin planted crops. Crowding plants more than is recommended usually results in all the plants doing poorly. Water deeply (not a little each day) one inch per week all summer. It is best to apply the water to the base of the plants rather than on the foliage. If you must use a sprinkler, water very early in the day so the foliage can dry before nightfall. Wet foliage overnight can encourage fungal diseases to develop.

Remove seed heads from perennials. Don’t allow fancy hybrids to ripen and self-sow as their offspring will not come true. Dead head flowers for more blooms. Iris can be divided and replanted after blooming. You can pinch back mums for bushier growth once they are 4 to 6 inches tall. Continue to pinch back until mid-July.

If your daffodils didn’t bloom well it could be because they are now growing in the shade of trees or shrubs which were small when the bulbs were planted. Or perhaps the daffodils are too crowded. Once the foliage turns yellow you can dig up the bulbs and divide and/or move them.

Fruit trees often shed small fruits in early summer called June Drop. Thin apples to one per cluster and one fruit every four to eight inches. This will cause bigger fruit. Pick up all fallen fruit whether caused by nature or man. Only compost fallen fruit if you have a “hot” heap. Otherwise dispose of the diseased fruit in the trash.

If you notice a “volunteer” tomato plant germinating in your garden resist the temptation to let it grow. You can’t be sure what variety it is. Yank it out or transplant it. Good gardeners, like good farmers, rotate their crops. By allowing a volunteer to grow in last year’s tomato area you are allowing disease to accumulate in that spot. Mulch under tomatoes keeps the soil from splashing up on the fruits, during those occasional downpours. Soil on the fruits promotes disease. If you don’t stake, trellis or cage your tomatoes and just let them sprawl on the ground, mulch will keep the fruit off the bare ground. Mulch keeps the ground from drying out and suppresses weeds. It also moderates the soil temperature. Several layers of newspaper topped with organic mulch, leaves, grass clippings, coarse compost, shredded bark etc. should do the trick.

You can ask Master Gardener Volunteers gardening questions at the Farmers’ Market on Saturdays. Also our Helpline is open for your gardening questions. Call 474-7534 with your question or go to www.Pickaway.osu.edu, click on "Ask an expert." Master Gardener Volunteers will get back to you with answers to your questions. Try to provide as much information as you can.

June sometimes begins our droughty summers. Water your roses well but hold off on the geraniums. They will bloom best when kept somewhat dry. Newly planted trees and bushes should be watered well each week if the weather remains dry. Give them a good soaking. Don’t give them a booster feeding of fertilizer this year. Force those young roots to search for food by stretching out into the soil.